Ignite
by sparzelli
Summary: Katara can't sleep. Apparently, neither can Zuko.


**A/N: **Avatar craze. First try at this-not sure if I did it to well. Review and let me know?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

* * *

Katara couldn't sleep.

She lay curled up in her sleeping bag, still as possible, holding her breath to the point of seeing stars. She heard Momo chatter in his sleep and squeezed her eyes shut until they throbbed.

Flipping over, she clasped her hands over her tucked up knees. Aang murmured under his breath and she opened one eye. Sokka let out a snore that shook the earth all the way to the North Pole and she shot up to a sitting position.

"What does it take to get some shut eye around here?" She grumbled to herself. She crossed her arms and glared at her comrades. When they didn't respond, she stood up and growled. Maybe a bath in the springs would help her relax. She took a few steps to her left into the woods, needing no light to guide her. After a good five minutes of walking through the foliage she reached an open clearing with a small pool of water in the middle, babbling streams breaking off and stretching to rivers she couldn't sense. There were few trees blocking the horizon from her view, leaving her a nice view of the starry sky and ocean before her.

Katara undid the ties and slipped out of her blue robes. She pulled her leggings off and stood in her underwear. She advanced towards the water with an almost predatory look in her eyes. She stepped into the clear depths and closed her eyes with a sigh, anger gone. The feel of the water lapping against her stomach pulled her into a trance. She leant her head back and arched her back, arms reaching out until her joints popped and she felt substantially stretched. She waved her hands about and bent the water over her head and let it trickle over her body slowly.

She opened her eyes to the cloudless sky and breathed in the scent of earth, water and air. The only element missing was fire, but she didn't miss the smell too much. After being chased by Zuko for as long as they had she would have to be crazy to miss the burning scent.

Katara brought her arms around her body and shivered at the thought of the prince. His lustrous golden eyes and marred skin raised goose bumps over her skin. As if the immense metal ship he traveled on wasn't enough, as if the massive armies of Fire Nation soldiers weren't enough, Zuko himself was probably more frightening up close than either.

She tilted her head to one side and eyed the full moon. They still had a ways to go to the North Pole. Katara wondered what Zuko would try to pull in the meantime. She filtered more water over her hair, face and shoulders as she pondered.

"If the Avatar wasn't the one I was looking for, I'd stay and enjoy the show, but as it is: you're not him."

Katara's head whipped around at the husky drawl.

"Zuko?" She practically yelled. "I half have a mind not to go wake up Aang and my brother right now. What are you doing here?"

"What do you think, peasant?" She narrowed her eyes and brought a thin stream of water up before her in warning.

"Don't push me. I'm tired and cranky and I won't hesitate to freeze your face over," She threatened. He chuckled under his breath and smirked. A slow burn began in the pit of her stomach, like molten lava eating her insides and fire in her veins. He made her so _angry!_

"I'm so scared," He taunted. "Tell me where the Avatar is, and I won't hurt you."

"How about I bend your ass back to the beach so you can get on your stupid boat and go home!" Katara yelled.

"Fine. I'll find him myself."

Katara rushed forward, jets of water following her hand movements and snapping Zuko on the back. His hand burst into flames like a life-size lighter and he pointed it at her menacingly.

"Don't push me," He used her words against her. "I won't hesitate to _burn your face_ _to a crisp_." Katara gulped but held her ground.

"Maybe it should be your _balls_ I'm freezing over instead of your face. That is, if you have any?" She smiled innocently at him as he glared, mouth forming an unpleasant line. He fisted the flame and it went out with a curl of smoke. In the blink of an eye, Zuko had advanced and wrapped his long fingers over her throat in a vise. He brought his face closer to hers than she ever remembered it being.

"You should watch your mouth, Katara. Don't insult what you can't beat," He warned her in a near whisper. Her skin crawled at the heat of his lips against her ear. She brought her hands up to grip his wrist.

"Don't insult what you can't control," She shot back. With a flick of her hand a ball of water rose from the spring and encircled his head like a spherical halo. She smiled shamelessly and froze it over. Zuko's angry face stared back at her and his fingers twitched over her neck. He threw her back into the water as his head burst into flame.

Katara stared, chin thrust out defiantly. He took heavy steps towards her and sneered at her. Katara felt a layer of sweat form on her skin as the water heated up to the point of scalding.

"You think you're the big, bad waterbender?" Zuko spoke furiously. Katara bent the water away from her body in an attempt to stop the burning, but he only heated it until she lost concentration.

"You think you can defeat me?" Tears formed in her eyes even as she fought them back. Her skin was turning a terrible shade of red and she was sure the first couple layers had burnt off.

"Think again." She closed her eyes with a whimper and her arms shot out, the whole pond freezing over. She sighed in relief until she sensed Zuko's footsteps pounding over the ice.

"You're just a little girl…" She frowned at him as he kneeled and put a finger under her chin. He roughly tilted her head back, eyes searching her face.

"…And you can't do anything." Katara bared her teeth and liquefied the spring so Zuko fell in. He lost his poise and tumbled into her, arms flailing as she solidified the water once more. She took deep breaths and stared him down.

Zuko looked a little shocked at being frozen against her but did nothing to free himself. Katara slowly let her face become blank as she felt his hands on her bare shoulders.

He was, unfortunately, stuck with his leg between her own, thigh flush against the apex of her limbs. One of her own hands was beneath the surface against his stomach as if to push him away. The other fell onto his chest.

They refrained from moving at all.

Zuko let one hand trail up her neck until he was cradling her face and the other fall to her elbow. He traced his fingers over her stomach gently and slid his hand around to rest on her back.

Katara narrowed her eyes. "This isn't what you're here for," She reminded him. He lowered his gaze to the exposed skin on her neck. "Zuko?"

He ignored her as his fingers splayed across her jugular.

"I can't let you get to Aang," she ground out. "He's the Avatar. With his help, we can end this war, help save the _world-_"

"Stop it. You sound like a broken record," his thumb brushed over her lip and a shudder sprinted over her backbone. He was a million miles away. "And I do too have balls."

Katara giggled in spite of the situation. "I know."

He raised his eyebrows and a small smile broke over his lips.

"How would _you_ know?" He asked mischievously. She blushed and sputtered.

He grinned at her and melted the water back to its original warmth. He pulled her to him in a wet grip and kissed the top of her head. She rested against his shoulder and traced her fingers over his biceps.

"I wish we didn't have to meet like this. The circumstances are almost heartbreaking," Katara mumbled. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"If it makes you feel any better, I want you more than I want the Avatar. More than I want my honor."

She lifted her head to his and met his luminescent eyes for a moment. His lips whispered over hers and her heart fluttered.

"Even so…" She sighed and fingered his peach fuzz. "Being boiled in the middle of the night is no fun."

He frowned. "I'm sorry." She shrugged. She had already healed the minor burns between their talking. "What are you doing up so late? Here I thought I'd get easy access to a sleeping Avatar but your splashing distracted me." She smiled gently up at him.

"I couldn't sleep," She replied openly. "The boys are loud, and it's not like Momo or Appa are too quiet themselves," she added. "I thought a bath might be relaxing." She leant back and relaxed on the water. Zuko situated his hands on her back to keep her floating. They twirled in the night and watched the sky, each other, and the churning waves of the sea.

"One of these days we'll be able to be together. No strings attached," He muttered suddenly. "I'll have my honor, the war will be over, nobody will be able to distract us from each other…" Katara stared up at him wistfully.

"One of these days," She reflected. They nodded to themselves. She sat back up and embraced him. "I love you, you know. Even if you do try to capture my best friend and cook me."

"And I love you, even if you are a little waterbending peasant."

Katara smacked his arm and a laugh ghosted through his chest. The reverberations sent shockwaves through her body and she felt the slow burn from before, but somehow different-lower, more pleasant than angry.

She kissed him solidly as they managed to conjure the beast with two backs, not for the first time in the late hours.

* * *

When lavender was beginning to bleed at the edges of night, Katara pulled away from Zuko's arms. A bird chirped in the distance as the girl pulled herself out of the spring. She rewrapped her breast band, pulled on her underwear and tied on her robes. Zuko evaporated the water from his clothes as she bent the water out of her own. They turned to each other with a look of finality.

"One of these days," He repeated. She smiled at him and put a hand on his cheek.

"Just you and me." He placed his hand over hers and graced her with one last kiss. She watched him as she walked away, back to the camp and consequently the thing keeping them apart. Her hand slipped away from his and she made the short trek back to her friend and brother.

Thoughts of Zuko already filling her mind, she lay down in her sleeping bag, finally tired enough to sleep.

Not even five minutes later a hiss filled her ears as one of her companions threw a bucket of water over the dwindling fire from the previous night. She turned blearily and found Sokka rubbing his stomach with a pout.

"Can you start it up again?" She asked quietly. He looked at her through sleepy eyes and cocked his head. She smiled slightly and turned back over as he set to work reigniting the flames.

"The heat is…comforting," She whispered. Katara smiled and drifted away into sleep.


End file.
